The Calvary Grand Organ

The Calvary Church, Charlotte, NC

by Michael Laird

Here is a brief photo tour of the 5-manual 205-rank Möller pipe organ
at The Calvary Church in Charlotte, NC. I was able to take these pictures
thanks to the generosity of Dan Miller,
former organist and Minister of Music at the Calvary Church. If you'd like
to see a larger version of any of these pictures, simply click on the small
photos embedded in this page.

Here is the main organ case with the 5 manual console in front. The
trompette en chamade at the top of the façade is called the "Millenial
Trumpet", is on 10" of wind, and has full-length 16' resonators. The rest
of the organ case is primarily made up of the 32' Contra Violone and the
32' Contra Principal.

Here is a view of the console looking up at the main organ case. You
can clearly see the full-length 16' resonators on the Millenial Trumpet
from this angle. Keep in mind a sense of the size of the organ case; remember
that the pedal pipes in the façade are full-length 32' pipes!

This view is from back pretty far in the auditorium, looking at the
main organ case. You can also see the Trompeteria I/Ancillary I division
in its own separate case on the left. There is a matching Trompeteria II/Ancillary
II division like it on the right (out of view in this shot).

Here is a shot from the leftmost corner of the first balcony, looking
across the front of the auditorium. Here you can see the en chamade trumpet
pipes of the Trompeteria I division on the left, the main organ in the
middle, and the Trompeteria II/Ancillary II division on the right. The
auditorium seats about 6,000 people, and contains 2.5 million cubic feet
of airspace.

Dan Miller was very kind and allowed me to play this huge instrument
for a good while. Here is a picture of me playing "Trumpet Tune" by David
German, the former minister of music at this church. He wrote this piece
for the dedication of the Calvary Church organ. It sure was fun to be able
to play the piece on the instrument it was written for!

Dan Miller has made several recordings on this instrument. These CDs
are available from the Organ Historical Society or from the Calvary Church
directly (704-543-1200). Below is a list of the CDs, or you can find more
details here: